Masks of Deception
by An Ordinary Riceball
Summary: "Hey, you wanna be friends?" "Not interested. Sorry." That was the first verbal exchange between Orihara Izaya and Kishitani Shinra. "Ah, okay. I'll just ask again tomorrow." Eventual Shinzaya. AU. I hate me for this just as much as you do. Full info and warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

_**Story: Masks of Deception, Chapter 1**_

 _ **Summary: "**_ _ **Hey, you wanna be friends?" "Not interested. Sorry." That was the first verbal exchange between Orihara Izaya and Kishitani Shinra. "Ah, okay. I'll just ask again tomorrow." Eventual Shinzaya. AU. I hate me for this just as much as you do.**_

 _ **Note: If you guys actually WANT it and can help me think of some other supernatural ideas aside from Headless Horsemans and Demon blades, so maybe I can hope to evolve something from it) and events that led up that didn't happen, so that includes Saika(I love her too, so I'm so sorry!), and that is all.**_

 _ **Anyway, this is what I think; if Shinra had never met Celty and had fallen in love with somebody else, no matter who it was, I still think Shinra would still be same old Shinra down deep, no matter how you look at it. _ **I still love ShinraxCelty, and truly accept it as an OTP in canon.**_**_

 _ **But I can also sort of reason with some of the onesided IzayaxShinra(as well as many other) theories out there that I've read, so I just randomly decided to start this story, because I like to imagine Shinra giving a shit. It will be a fairly slow build ShinraxIzaya AU.**_

 _ **In this AU, Izaya still 'loves' humans, and if you look close, I still tried to keep the characters themselves.**_

 _ **And if you do have any ideas for possible friendships or pairings, that would be great, and I don't judge(literally, I'm probably the most unbiased person you will ever meet), I may or may not use your idea, though.**_

 _ **Warnings for future story: Gangs, some bullying, both heterosexual and homosexual pairings, anime references(is that a warning? -)some future abuse, swearing(?), likely some minor homophobia(I don't agree with it, but once in a while there are valid things that lead up to it), some darker themes, drug abuse, violence, some blood, and possibly some other minor new warnings in the future. That stuff. Nothing will be too blatantly explicit, but this story will probably contain some elements that wouldn't normally be recommended for kids(Well, it IS Durarara), so...**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara!**_

 _ **...**_

Izaya had always loved observing humans, even in elementary school. Always doing so from a 'safe distance', he was never particulary loved, nor particularly hated, and was more or less just your 'average good student'. Though he often appeared appeared as a bit of a loner, with how he would often prefer to sit the back of the class, and stayed in the library instead of going outside to play with the other kids, unless invited to follow them.

But, the truth was, he didn't feel dejected by being left out, for it just felt natural to him. The idea of intimately involving himself with other humans felt odd, because he really just preferred to remain detatched. Not that he wasn't amused when people dragged him along wherever. It just didn't normally happen unless people noticed him there. And when it happened, he never seemed to quite know how to handle himself.

He was now attending Raijin Chugaku in Ikebukuro, and the first day had come and gone, and thinking back, he had already aquire the names of the people he was most interested in watching, as he was prepared to once again go about beginning his everyday observation just like he had every other year.

That was all until some brown haired bespectacled boy, about his own height, had suddenly approached him. At first glance, there was nothing that seemed extraordinary about him, and he had looked fairly normal, albeit giving a typical 'nerdy' appearance, so he hadn't really thought much of him before that. He did, however, remember the other male introducing himself in his self introduction by the name of "Kishitani Shinra".

But he wouldn't lie and say he wasn't at least slightly surprised when that same boy had walked up to him that day several hours after school was over. He had just closed his locker, throwing his bag over his shoulder, as he turned around, finally preparing to leave for the day, and that was when he was immeditely met by the eyes of the innocent looking brunette, who was standing right before him and beaming.

He was little too close for comfort, so Izaya backed up a bit. "Excuse me."

He assumed Shinra probably didn't even hear his muttered apology, and moments later he felt his suspicions were confirmed.

"Hey, do you want to be friends?" The other suddenly asked him. Izaya didn't know what to think, but he got the odd feeling that something about this Shinra guy was most assuredly 'off' and not normal by his standards.

"Not interested. Sorry." He said flatly, walking past him, as he walked around him, and headed down the hall to make his way to the back exit.

And that was the first verbal exchange between Orihara Izaya and Kishitani Shinra. He had been speaking with the vice principal about some paperwork which had needed to be filled out and a parent or guardian's signature on it. His parents weren't around that often, and as such, it was hard to get them to sign anything for a while until they came back. Because they were both very busy and traveled overseas. A relative of his had been keeping an eye on everything, but he was nowhere to be reached at the moment.

He had been there for about three hours since school was over, so he was sure that most of the students had went home by now, and not very many staff members were even still there, either. Could he have really been staying behind that whole time just to meet him?

 _"Who actually_ asks _to be friends with somebody? That's really so not normal."_

Either this Shinra guy didn't care about typical, etiquette at all, or he wanted to get close to him for some reason.

 _-"What I am I thinking? He probably just asked me because I seem so much like a loner, anyway."_

A minute later, Shinra caught up, but the latter didn't seem to be discouraged at all by his rejection to their friendship, and in fact kept smiling as if he was suddenly even happier, as he began following behind.

"It's alright if you don't want to be mine, but I'm already yours now, so I'll forgive you." said Shinra.

"Alas, acquaintanceship is a mutual thing. Why are you being so stubborn? I already confirmed we're not friends, ne?" Izaya didn't look back.

"Ah, okay." Shrugged Shinra, and the raven-like haired boy expected him to immeditely leave it at that just as most would, and found himself somehow disappointed at that thought.

"I'll just ask again tomorrow."

Izaya stopped at that, now turning around.

"Wait, what?" He studied Shinra, baffled for a moment and unsure of what to think. The only intuition or reading he could get off of him was that something, once again 'was not right'. A simple 'no' evidently didn't even remotely register in his mind. Or if it did, he didn't seem to care and would just continue to press his luck practically without a care in the world.

"And I'd just say the same thing again tomorrow, so why would you even bother?"

"Well... it's like this. I want to get to know you," Shinra tried to reason. "so I'm gonna keep asking as many times as I have to. Plus, I'll still never know unless I do keep trying, right?"

"...Your sense logic is too flawed. Really, are you some psycho stalker I should be aware of? Now _that_ would be interesting. No offense." Izaya just turned around, starting to walk again.

Well, there was no offense _intended_ , but...

"None taken."

There was that expression again. Void of anxiety, as if nothing at all even phased him, yet it was somehow unreadable. He couldn't tell what he was thinking. He couldn't understand the other's intentions at all. What could he do to get rid of him?

Well, he could probably do a lot if he really tried, but then again, considering that he'd never really partaken in any kind of conversation like this before, a question suddenly arose in his mind and threw him off once again.

Did he actually _want_ to get rid of him?

"I know this all probably seems pretty odd to you, doesn't it? You're probably wondering something like, 'why in the world would this weird Kishitani Shinra guy, whom I no doubt just met today come up to me and suddenly ask my permission for 'friendship' of any kind?' You may even wondering if I only asked you because you look lonely, but to be honest, I actually only _asked_ you because you seem like the type of person that if I simply approached you and said hi, you might say hi back, but you'd quickly end up dismissing it as something like common courtesy, you know?..."

Izaya had suddenly stopped walking after his first few sentences, but Shinra had continued, though slowed down.

"So I decided that asking you outright was the only way you'd be forced to take my request at face value, you see? That's also the only way you'd listen to your heart. But even if you reject me over and over and over again, it's fine, cause I'll just keep asking until you're forced to say yes." The brunette finished confidently, now having somehow utterly gained the full attention and confusion of Orihara Izaya.

Despite himself, something in the way Shinra had spoken intrigued him. Not that he would admit it, but never in his lifetime would he have thought his way of life, "never to get too close nor too far", would crumble around him so easily within a single conversation from somebody else. This boy; he had seen right through him, as if he, himself, was practically transparent, and he briefly worried, wondering if there could be others just like him here, but figured it was just Kishitani Shinra who was different and not normal.

"Why are you so intent on bringing me into troublesome situations? Look, surely you have other friends, ne?"

"Yeah, I do have plenty, but I don't really care about any of them at all." Shinra spoke with such honesty that even Izaya found it a bit unsettling.

"...If that's the case, I find it hard to believe that you'd have any. And why would I want to have you as a friend if you don't care?"

"Because you're different than them. There is this one guy named Shizuo too, though, a friend I made in elementry school, but he's at a different middle school this year, so... Oh, by the way, your name is um... _Izaya_ , _right_?"

Said preteen blinked. "Huh? You're asking to be somebody's friend yet you're not even-?" He began to inquire, before sighing, as decidedly dropped the matter, at noticing Shinra's expecting expression. "forget it. Yeah, it's Orihara Izaya, and whatever name you decide to use, go for it, really."

It was true. He _didn't_ care, expecially not for some unimportant formalties.

"Any name? Really? Okay, I'll call you... Um... Zaya-chan, or Izachin, or Izaya-chan... or Izaya-senpai? Actually, that all probably just feels really awkward to both of us. I guess I'll just stick with Izaya, then."

And that's when it dawned on Izaya.

"Why are you still here, anyway?" He didn't really feel like giving Shinra the opportunity to ask into personal details about himself right now, so he decidedly changed the topic, hoping to get at least a somewhat satisfying reading on who this Shinra guy really was.

"Well, I sort of... Earlier, some kid bumped into me and I sort of tripped down the stares and hit my head. There wasn't any blood or anything, so I told everybody I just wanted to rest in the infirmiry, and that's where I've been for the past few hours now, but then the nurse told me I had to leave a little while ago after gathering all my paperwork from my teachers. And then I was headed down here, and you were there. So what a coincidence, ne?" the latter explained seemingly carefreely, before ever-so-briefly averting his gaze a bit.

"You... You're sure it's alright for you to be walking around, then?"

 _"He fell down the stares after some kid bumped in to him? Bullies...?"_ Izaya pondered it for a moment. Come to think of it, it seemed like he _had_ something about a 'fall' like that earlier, but hadn't payed it much mind to it.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It was just a bit of a fall, anyway."

 _"I find that hard to believe."_

"...Whatever," he sighed pushing his doubts aside, not wanting to get too deeply involved with some other human's life. He was sure it was nothing much to worry about just like he said. "why are you so insistent on being friends with me, anyway? Specifically with _me_?"

"Because you peeked my interest. Actually, I did also hear some things about you from a couple other kids that said they went to your elementary school, as well, though, so..." Shinra explained, before trailing off into silence.

"Interest? You really _are_ a stalker, after _all_ , aren't you?" Izaya deadpanned.

It was only meant as a non-hostile remark, but that didn't mean he wasn't actually considering if this boy really _could_ be some kind of stalker, after all, or if was he just extraordinarily even better at picking up on details than himself.

"Stalker...? Well, Shizuo-kun did once say that I seemed a bit too clingy, at times, so maybe you're right."

"Oi, what kind of 'interest' did you mean a minute ago?"

"Hm? Everything about you! I'm interested in all of it." Shinra proclaimed, not ashamed at all.

"'Everything'... Should you really be saying those things aloud? Doesn't that sound a little too... weird? That also hurt my ears." Izaya told him.

No way... This boy...

"Sorry about that. Anyway, you love to observe humans, right?"

"Huh?" Izaya uttered in question, completely dumbfounded by what this suddenly interesting human was on about.

"In your self-introduction, you said, _"I like observing people of all occupations"._ Shinra reminded him.

"But what does that have to do with being somebody's 'friend'?" Izaya asked, obviously annoyed and not following.

Of course he remembered that, but didn't know why this classmate was bringing it up.

To top it off, that _was_ what he had said that day because to say, "I love observing humans" and just leaving it at that would have seemed less-than-tactful, but nor had he thought that somebody would approach him or much less ask to be friends with him because of it.

Izaya's love for humanity wasn't what one would normally call 'love', per say, but it was more of a twisted fascination for their many different ways of lives. Though he knew it was becoming even more of an obsession by the day, he typically didn't let it show, and his observations were never really ill-mannered, but they weren't typically at all for the 'goodness' of humanity, either. It was just fascinating to him to watch how they'd handle themselves in all everyday, joyous, hopeless, and horrifying situations alike. He usually didn't personally get involved, but instead always just liked to observe them from the shadows as they 'evolved', and that was all he was willing to admit that it was to him.

Yet, he knew this twisted nature of his wasn't normal thus why he had never once really talked about it to anybody, including his parents and teachers and especially other students. He was also aware that his obsession would only ever get worse, and that somebody might even potentially get hurt because of it in the future, but he had no clue how to change it, and he didn't even know how to explain it himself, so he didn't even care to try.

Beside of that, if everybody realized the true meaning and intent behind his words in his introduction, he would no doubt be looked upon with disgust for his 'apathy'. Not that he had ever minded being ignored, but if he could help it, he didn't particularly like the idea of those he claimed to 'love' harboring such malicious feelings for him. Even so, he only cared to recognize his feelings for 'his humans' as 'love' because that was the only hobby he had that he really knew of, and human observation and reading people's actions was all he was even willing to say he was remotely good for, because he didn't like boasting much. He'd never enjoyed focusing on himself while he did enjoy giving everybody else 'attention', so his 'hobby' fit right along with that, as far as he was concerned.

Still, if Shinra had somehow connected even a few of those dots he knew it could be potentially troublesome to involve himself with this guy. But, despite this knowledge and much to his chagrin, something about Shinra had captivated him and something inside him made him want to stay and hear him out.

"What does my self introduction have to with what you're bugging me about, _Shinra_?" He asked, moments after he spoke last.

"Everything, of course." said person answered easily.

Izaya was now getting a bit annoyed and was speechless at first for he still had no idea what Shinra was implying. "Can you please be more specific?"

"I'm a human too, so you can observe me all you want, see? I know I do seem pretty normal at first glance, but I'm actually sort of weird and out of place, and anybody who ever got to know me says I'm just too hard to read, So it should work out in your favor since I'll be a bit more of a challenge for you to do so. And, on the other hand, I'll get what I want. That seems pretty fair, doesn't it?"

"Okay, so you're saying is that you want me to standin for the true friends you don't have, then? What kind of reasoning is that?" He sighed, before speeding up, immensly disappointed, just hoping Shinra would back off at this point.

 _"I should have realized that. He's no different then."_

"It's not like that, really." Shinra's voice suddenly insisted to his disdain, as he stepped out the back door.

"..."

"I've never really cared to be anybody's friend. You and Shizuo-kun are the only ones."

"I see." And Izaya smirked hollowly at that. Too many unsorted thoughts and emotions were going through his head at the moment, some of which were about his own twin sisters and where his parents were and above all, the idea of some kid suddenly asking to come into his life. It made no sense, and he didn't care to make sense of it, because it was just too confusing.

And just like that, his life-long concaved emotions suddenly empowered and overwhelmed him and he grew irritated at Shinra for no real reason.

"Alas, whoever this 'Shizuo' person is, I really quite pity him..., because you really _are_ rather annoying, ne? I might even become a _real_ loner if I did actually become your friend, _Kishitani-kun_. Bye now~!"

And with that snide remark, he had expressed disinterest to simply down the requested friendship from the bespectacled boy named "Kishitani Shinra" who had coincidentally asked to be the first and only friend he would ever have, and possibly more than he would ever get. And he was aware of that fact.

 _-"He's weird, so he'll probably figure I'm not worth it and eventually move on, anyway, so there's no use dwelling on it, I guess.. But maybe he will be angry at me, after all... Who wouldn't be? I don't really think I'd particularly like being hated by any kind of friend, but I guess it can't be helped_ now _, huh...? Ah... Damn."_

Those were his thoughts, as he headed away from the school that evening, not once daring to look back. Yet despite what he told himself, there somehow remained a slightly warm, yet sorrowful feeling within his chest, as he swallowed. Was he really regretting speaking in such a way to that boy when he had likely just been trying to be nice?

He couldn't believe it, but in just one day, he found himself experiencing so many emotions he had never once felt before, and ones that he thought he shouldn't have, as well ones...

That he felt he didn't even deserve to feel.

But, no matter what he tried to convince himself of, there was one thought he just couldn't somehow couldn't deny himself.

 _-"Ah... these emotions must be what my humans call... 'yearning', and 'remorse'..., but I don't really like either one of them, after all..."_

 _~End of Chapter._

 _ **A/N: Review...? Please don't hate me! I'm a horrible person, I know! But I wanted to give this pairing a shot. Well, at least I'm not some heartless bastard who would have a character they hate(minus Takashi. That bastard is a flipping horrible person, and Dotachin could have died because of him! He's a pedophile and even Kujiragi recognized his actions as self love. And he thought about forcing Masaomi to strip naked and dance so he could expose him on the internet! And got Shizuo arrested, took advange of Haruna's emotions, and gave Mikado that terrorists gun!, and he was gonna use poor Tom as a hostage! He viciously stabbed Mikado over and over and over again out of anger when he got in his way to protect Anri, he wanted Anri, Shizuo and probably so many others to be under control of Saika, and I want Erika and Walker to get ahold of him! I hate him hate him hate him! He's selfish, narcisist, hypocritical, disgusting, sociopathic, psychopathic, self-concieted, pedophilic, il**_ _ **liberal, mean, ungenerous, narrow-minded, and self-seeking scum.**_ _ **To top it off, he's also a disgusting hypocrite and refused to listen to his own words "you reap what you sew"! even the-*bleeps out further mile long rants*) raped just to see the character they hate left in shambles. (Heck, I wouldn't even write it about that shit with Takashi Nasujima, but honestly, he deserves to die and rot in some hole, but I love Haruna, so I wish her luck and hope she'll have plently of fun at his expense. :3**_

 _ **For real! He's such a di-*cuts out even more rants***_

 _ **So, anyways, I hope you all won't hate me too much for starting this, but if you do, I guess it can't be helped. Sadly, haters gonna hate. Y-Y**_

 _ **I'm making no promises about updates, because I have too many fanfictions(over 20) that I've started, and author's block is killing me! No matter what I do, the words just won't come to me! x**_

 _ **Any who, matane~!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Story: Masks of Deception, Chapter 2**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara!**_

 _ **Reviews to replies-**_

 _ **To unknown(guest): I'm glad to be the one to inspire you. I too have gotten into many pairings and began loving characters becuase of fanfiction, and doing research and just giving things a chance. Ouran High School Host Club is an example of something I pushed through, and in the end, I really don't regret it, so you're right. Thank you for giving me a chance! It's very hard to write for Shinra at times, so I hope it's good.**_

 _ **To Vixie96: I'm glad you took an interest, and I hope you'll stick with me on this.**_

 _ **To KSdees: I'm glad you took an interest in this story and I've actually been talking with a friend about this pairing and this possibilty, myself, for a while now. XD**_

 _ **I do hope you'll try to stick with me on it. Some of these Durarara characters are very hard to write for me(especially Izaya, Shinra, Kururi and Mairu, and some others, but my FB roleplay account Orihara Izaya-nii has kind of helped me explore Izaya's character a bit more), so the more support and followers my stories gain, I figure that I must be doing something at least somewhat right. XD**_

 _ **(I still get kind of irritated when people take Izaya at face value from the anime and call him a psychopath or sociopath. Truthfully, it's a complete insult to Narita's writing to dismiss him as just a psychopath and say that's simply all there is to it. To be honest, if you never got to hear Shizuo's thoughts in the anime or manga(most don't even care to read the light novels), people would probably just call him a war monger and some little child who gets angry and starts throwing around street signs and poles because he didn't get his way, but you get to hear his side and thoughts and you can sympathize with him, so people can love him. But with Izaya as apposed to the light novels, they cut out everything, and all the saddening quotes from other characters, and many other things that make him who he is(punching a telephone pole? Heck, they could make a whole OVA on it, and some of the flashbacks from the SH novels, and of the chapters of the Minidura manga and some of the scenes from the 3 Way Standoff manga about Miyoshi only makes me sadder for him. -)**_

 _ **If you think about it, he's one of the only people that you never hear his thoughts in the anime, such as, "Shinra will probably be mad at me if he finds out I went to meet Celty while taking the head with me."**_

 _ **And even book one said that Izaya wasn't even close to the type of person that would kill without batting an eyelid. It frustrates me when people say that you don't need to refer to the light novels, because what's shown in the anime is "all there is to it" and that the anime is made so you take it that way, but they're actually wrong and obviously have no clue about why books are made into movies and manga(and light novels) are made into anime. The anime and movie are usually always there to**_ **promote** _ **the original productions because it's takes a lot of time to make the animations, and they only make like five dollars a day on it(one dollar per frame and five frames perday) while minimal weige is what? Seven dollars per hour.**_

 _ **Sorry for that rant... I guess haters gonna hate, either way, huh?**_

 _ **Right, I'm glad to know that somebody understands the update thing. I'm glad to hear that you're interested!**_

 _ **(About Takashi's adjectives). Why thank you. Aw, it was really nothing. *bows and smirks sadistically***_

 _ **Me: I love you, Haruna-chan! I wish you the best of lives with your dear Taku-chan! No matter what anybody tells you, you're doing the right thing! So have plenty of fun. *hugs Haruna***_

 _ **Haruna: *smiles* Hello, do I know you?**_

 _ **Me: Naw, but I know you. I'm just an observer, though...**_

 _ **Haruna: Well, I'm glad to know you support my love Takashi and me as a pair. It makes me happy. Thank you... I'm sure Takashi would be glad to hear it, too.**_

 _ **Me: That he would, so have at 'em, girl!**_

 _ **Haruna: Still...**_

 _ **Me: Huh?**_

 _ **Haruna: You seem kind of suspicious... Should I cut you?**_

 _ **Me: No no! Don't! I swear I'm innocent! Look! I got you a box of chocolates to give to Nasujima-san! And some vomit inducers and cyanide as well.**_

 _ **Haruna: Oh... I see... Guess I can trust you after all... Too bad I can't use the cyanide because my love Takashi would die, but thank you, anyways.**_

 _ **Me: U-um, no problem. *smiles nervously* Well, I'll see you later.**_

 _ **Haruna: Alright, bye. *smiles as she skips off, singing Takashi's name, and later that evening, many terrified and unmanly screams are heard all throughout Ikebukuro.***_

 _ **(Hope that was enjoyable xD and thanks again!)**_

 _ **To Guest (number 1): I'm glad you're following, and I hope I do keep you interested to the end! I'm glad you think so, and glad you thought is was interesting and I also hope this chapter will be just as fulfilling or at least somewhat! Thank you!**_

 _ **To Guest (number 2): You're welcome! Thank you for taking an interest in it! I've been wondering about it, myself for a while now, and finally decided to try write it! And Shinra is Shinra, no matter who's he with, so I would think so xD It may take some time, but gonna try to build it up to that! I've always thought it would be be funny if somebody acted like that with Izaya. I'll try to keep updating as much as my author's mind allows me too, but my other stories are waiting for me, sadly as well! T-T**_

 _ **And I'm glad you think so!**_

 _ **To Everybody(literally): I'm so thankful for all the followers I have on this(and especially the three favorites so far). It's wonderful to know that at some people are supportive of me doing this! If you happen to know any fans of Shinzaya(Don't auto to correct Shizaya, please google? -), please share this with them if you will, though you probably already would! Aside from that, I also encourage anybody who wants to write fanfictions for any of mine to do so. I'd even be glad to read them! It's not much, but that's why I often have semi timeskips for anybody who wants to do so. And am trying to keep things a tiny bit vague! Also, I do plan to have Izaya's parents make some minor appearances and since Shinra doesn't really have a mother around at all, I was thinking it'd be kind of funny if he grew a bit attached to Izaya's, but please let me know what you think!**_

 _ **Also I know their names and that they're traveling businessmen and that Narita did also say that their absence may have been one of the factors that shaped Izaya into who he is today(minus the significant one being Shinra as Izaya was thinking about in Volume 9), but if you do happen to know anything at all about them confirmed by Narita or any side stories, please let me know!**_

 _ **I found this chapter very tedious to write(because Shinra is even more complicated than Izaya in a few ways, even though I love him!). I also had trouble deciding what routes to take because I'm still not sure about where I'm going with this(what genres and type of AU this is gonna be exactly), but I did try to keep things as interesting as I could considering. Please let me know what you guys think! And as of right now, I'm going to have it in 3rd person POV more centered from Izaya's perspective for a little while, before I switch it to 3rd person POV from Shinra's and back trace a bit.**_

 _ **Please try stick with me?**_

 _ **And I can't emphasize it enough! Please share any suggestions you all have!**_

 _ **Anywho, onto le story~ :3**_

 _ **...**_

It was three days after Orihara Izaya had been approached by the weird bespectacled boy named Kishitani Shinra, and coincidently, that was also the last time he'd seen him.

He couldn't say he found it odd, for some students would come for self introductions and then vanish for the whole week following.

But despite this fact, he still couldn't deny the disappointment lurking and building up in his heart. Perhaps, it was because the boy had told him that he would ask to be his friend again if he turned him down. And the way he had spoke to Shinra before they departed the other day sort of expressed that he had done just that.

\- _"Unless... he saw through it...?"_

Why wasn't he there? The boy had seemed so adament, so Izaya could only muse on it without a certain answer to his question.

Finding himself glancing at Shinra's empty desk, he was having trouble setting his priorities straight, as he wanted to just go back to observing his humans like before.

But he felt tied in between.

 _"He didn't seem like the type of person who would typically skip school... so did I really scare him off, after all? Doubt it, he's probably just sick... What about his head injury, though...? Did he get it checked out? It's not my problem, so why am I thinking so hard on it...?"_

Izaya was not used to having friends or many personal connections with much of anybody, so he had no clue how to handle himself when it came down it. Perhaps that was one reason why he had always tried to avoid getting too close to people and stay as detached as possible in all school dealings. As such, when Kishitani Shinra had entered his life, approached him and said such strange things to him if even for a little while, it was the first time anybody had not walked off and had in fact sort of embraced his nature, he didn't know how to handle it.

It was possible he could end up hurting Shinra, and he knew he didn't want to do something like that down deep, but that was just the thing; He didn't get attached to people because he knew how humans were, yet something about _him_ was different.

And he was also aware that there probably wasn't any reason for concern, and that he should have been able to focus on other humans right now without distraction whether the other was there or not, but once again he couldn't deny the emotion he was feeling.

 _\- "Ah... It's 'worry_ '. _I'm really worried..., but why? He's fine, right?"_

One such encounter had thrown him off and he didn't know why.

 _ **"Hey, do you want to be friends?"**_

 _ **"Not intrested. Sorry."**_

 _ **"Ah okay, I'll just ask again tomorrow."**_

 _"He said all that as if he was definitely planning to be here... so... Did something happen? Tch... Guess he's more of a liar than I thought..."_ He thought, suddenly finding himself feeling irritated at the boy with no real cause, despite his knowledge that he had a whole year ahead of him and would probably even see him next week, before smiling to himself. _"and I also guess he's not so much of a friend, after all, huh? I'll just have make sure to rub that in his face, too, if I see him again..., but... what if he really is hurt? I wonder if anybody else would know something..."_

And just like that, with that thought in mind and standing up, he made to approach a group of some other preteens who he vaguely remembered as a some kids Shinra had been talking to on the day they did self introductions.

They seemed to be discussing after school clubs and extracurricular activities and if they should join one or create one.

"No way..." one of the girls nodded. "sports are too lame and exhausting..."

"Dude, I think we ought to be allowed to have a electronic game club with an N64 and other game consoles." a boy exclaimed.

 _"Clubs...?"_ Izaya mused. Some of the teachers had mentioned something about them. They weren't mandatory, but were optional. And as long as there were at least two people, practically any type of clubs could be formed. It wasn't that interesting to him, because he typically didn't like getting personally involved with such things and preferred to remain in the background at most when it came to school dealings. He did like school as apposed to home in many ways, but there were still things he simply refused to bother with, so the thought of forming a club, or even joining one didn't sound like something he would like very much, aside from the fact that it might end up putting him in other situations that pulled him away from doing what he liked.

"It might be nice, but I doubt they'd listen..." a girl in circular glasses who had bleached brown hair and a single mole on her left cheek near her eye sighed.

"Sadly." another boy curtly added. And that's when Izaya swallowed before taking the initiative to speak.

"Um... Excuse me?"

"Huh? What do'ya want?" The boy who had first mentioned the game club idea looked up at him bored and question. When he spoke he didn't sound particularly friendly, but not particularly rude either, just uncaring. They all looked at him in expectancy.

"I apologize for interrupting, but I was wondering if any of you have seen Kishitani-kun at school in the past few days at all?"

"Eh? Kishitani-kun...? Who's-" the boy started to ask, when he seemed to remember something. "oh, that weirdo in glasses, Kishitani Shinra...?"

"Yes." Izaya confirmed.

He glanced sideways, clasping his fingers around the back of his head. "No offense, but that guy's kinda messed up in the head. I really don't sesee why most girls seem to like him so much..., anyway... But we haven't seen him since self introductions."

 _"He's obviously jealous of the attention..."_

"Ah, thank you..."

"Why do you want to know? I'm just curious," another girl with short hair suddenly asked Izaya. "because he was asking some weird questions about you the other day..."

"Weird questions?" the raven haired boy cocked an eyebrow a bit.

"Yeah," the other guy spoke again. "like what foods you like, your skills, and practically anything we knew about you, but we didn't know much of anything about some crap like that, so we pretty much dismissed him, but we did mention to him about some of your accomplishments in elementary school."

At hearing what his classmates were saying about Shinra, something inside Izaya suddenly grew, but he kept most of his thoughts to himself for the time being and decided that it was best to not do or say anything or even ask anything furthur that would distract him from his purpose, or make this new 'game' too easy for him to figure out.

 _-"Haha... no doubt, I guess Shinra might really be a stalker. If what this boy and girl are saying is true, that could narrow something down, couldn't it? Still..."_

Most people would be disturbed if they found out they had a borderline stalker, but Izaya and Shinra were not like others, so Izaya was somehow only a bit surprised and humored by hearing that. Thinking back to how he odd and different Shinra had seemed when they met, he somehow didn't really doubt what they had said, even though he would have normally just dismissed it at as simple rumors had they been talking about somebody who was not Shinra. No, of course he still didn't know whether it was true or not for sure, but it still didn't answer the question he had about Shinra's absence, so he just smiled hollowly at them.

"I understand. Thank you for your help." He said, bowing a bit, and with that, he left them to themselves, regrettably knowing that there was probably nothing much he could do. He briefly considered asking the teachers, but he easily figured that they wouldn't know anymore than he did. And it had only been three days, he reminded himself, so he would just wait it out and try to let it go back to the way it was before until he saw him again.

Somewhere throughout that day, even though he'd tried to engross himself in human observation as always, he suddenly found himself bored, having seen these same reactions and expressions many times before, and that's when he remembered something.

 _ **"You can observe me all you want."**_

Shinra's voice rung in his head. He eventually let out a deep sigh, with a small shaky smirk, absentmindely watching two kids arguing with each other over an 'accident' involving paint ending up all over somebody's worksheet and desk.

"Really, what was that weird offer all about, anyway...? I just don't get it."

Kishitani Shinra was weird, so something told him he would probably be back.

...

The rest of the week or what little there was of it left, and the following weekend, had went by extremely uneventfully for Orihara Izaya, but on Friday he had decidedly asked around a little bit, and had managed to learn a some satisfying details about Shinra. Most of the students he had spoke with knew very few personal details and about the boy's values, but some sure had plently of various opinions about him, ranging from 'creepy', to 'a bit strange' to even 'interesting', and somehow 'mysterious', and 'noncaring'. He understood them all, but wasn't bothered by it at all.

On the other hand, he only approached the ones who he assumed didn't know Shinra very well, because once again, he only wanted so many details, and wanted to feel the blanks in slowly as he got to know Shinra, and unnecessary information would only get in the way so their opinions was really all he did ask for, mainly out of curiosity and to 'feel up the time'.

Eventually, Monday morning finally came and he was sitting back in his homeroom. He had came a bit earlier than normal today for several reasons. But while he was at it, he had bought a plate of a Japanese sushi delicacy often refered to as 'ootoro' at a market not too far off his path.

It was a type of fatty tuna which came from the belly of the tuna, or at least that's what he understood about it. He did like some other sushi, but this was one he would say he really liked above any others. He'd only had twice that he could remember, but he was sure that his opinion of it would never change.

He loved it most because it was really creamy and melted right into his mouth like he liked. "Ah. Just like I remember... Ootoro really is really best. Hey, Hiro-sensei, do you like sushi? I really love it, but especially fatty tuna~"

The teacher who was sitting in the class looked up and nodded. "Ootoro's pretty good, but I'm not a huge sashimi or fish fan or a fan of much fatty foods in general, myself. I actually prefer shrimp. Though I gotta feel kind of bad for those fish and sea creature. They live to be pray, yeah?"

"Not a lot of people think about that, ne? But that's how humans are, after all. I do suppose I'm no better, though. I do feel kind of bad and all, but it _is_ all around us, ne? We often kill so many bugs out there, which are smaller than us and are vulnerable. A lot of us just get rid of them because they're either in the way, or they're convenient to use as bait~ Isn't that right?"

"Yes, you're pretty smart. Do all kids your age think about those little details now adays?"

Izaya shook his head. "Hahaha. You flatter me, sensei, but I'm really nothing all that special, ne? I'm sure _all_ of us think about stuff like that at some point, but we don't do anything for the silent party, even though there some activists out there, I suppose. See, if I was really that smart, I'd probably try to do something to fix it, as we all would, am I right?"

"Hahah, well, I guess you _are_ right about that. Anyway, enjoy your breakfast. I'm going to take care of something. If anybody asks, let them know I'll be back in a short while and that I'm in the teacher's lounge, alright?"

"Of course, I have you covered, teach, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Thank you."

He nodded and smiled. "No problem."

The teacher then let himself out of the room as he said he would, and now Izaya was left alone in the silent room.

His smile dropped somewhat, as he looked down at his plate and he sighed. "After all, all humans really are at least slightly selfish in _everything_ they do, aren't they...? Alas, that really is all it amounts to..., ne _kaa-san? Tou-san_..?"

Moments later, he had just put another piece of ootoro in his mouth, when a familar voice suddenly exclaimed his first name, startling him and causing him to choke a bit on it.

It was the boy's voice which he'd secretly been hoping to hear since several days before. He turned to meet the eyes of the brunette classmate who was approaching him. He had a bandage around his head.

"Shinra... I..." Izaya started to speak before Shinra could have said anything, but was suddenly at a loss of words. Originally, he'd been planning to fuss a bit at Shinra when - if he saw him again, but now that he saw innocent looking boy again..., the frustrated words of distaste were not there now, or rather, they wouldn't come out.

And instead, it came out in the exact opposite tone than what he would have had it to had he just spoken and expressed his mind freely.

"I was wondering if you... It's like this; I-" He took a deep a deep breath and was finally prepared to say what he wanted to after gathering his thoughts, when suddenly Shinra reached out a hand and smiled, patting him on the head.

"It's fine." He said, confidently.

"Huh?" Izaya inquired, confused, and taken a back by the sudden and gentle physical contact.

"I know you didn't intend to say such mean things, and I'm not even angry at you for that, and you know why?" Shinra smiled even wider, but was somehow even more unreadable that ever.

"..." No, Izaya didn't know, but his eyes wanted to know why.

"It's because you accepted my friendship, Izaya. That really is all I care about."

"...I... It's..." Izaya wanted to deny it and felt imensly awkward at Shinra seeing right through him. He wanted to deny it but he couldn't and then said something else. "seriously..., even if I say such terrible things to you, you're 'fine'? Are you some sort of masochist or something?"

"Believe it or not, Shizuo-kun actually asked me the same thing once, except it was because he physically hurt me a couple times, whereas you yourself use words... But I told him, _"I don't really care, because I know you're still a good person down deep, so I'll still be your friend.",_ andyou're no different in that way."

"Oh? How so?" Izaya was curious for an explanation now.

"Because you love humans." Shinra stated.

"..." Izaya was silent and would have told Shinra that his 'love' was different, and that there was obviously no connection between him and the thing with this Shizuo person, had said boy not continued speaking.

"You accept all humans, no matter who they are, and you just want to 'love' them any way you can, but you know each and every single one of them are vastly different so you don't want to exclude them. You feel like the only choice you have is to accept them for who they are and just support each and every one of their decisions no matter what it is. I bet you've thought something like, _"If I save one, I have to save them all."_ , haven't you?"

"..."

Shinra beamed. "That in itself means that you're a good person, just like Shizuo-kun is. But you're still different from Shizuo-kun and you have your own special traits, you see?"

"Hey, Shinra..., are you some kind of psychic or something...?"

"Well," Shinra shrugged a bit. "I am pretty good at putting things together.

 _"I don't think that really answered my question... Ah, whatever..."_ Thought Izaya, before asking him where he'd been at.

"And must I even _ask_ why you have a bandage wrapped around your head...?"

"Ah, this?" Shinra pointed at the white bandage wrap around his skull, before he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, and went onto explain it.

"My dad seemed really worried, and ended up insisting I go to the hospital. Apparently, somebody had called him and told him about my fall last Monday. They said my head was a bit swollen, so they told me to stay home for the next few days... And my dad wouldn't let me leave. I kept telling him I that I was fine! I told him that I wanted to see my friend, but he wouldn't listen! Sorry I abandoned you..." Shinra trailed off into silence eyes downcast slightly as if ashamed of something.

"No, it's fine... because it's..." Izaya, who was not used to giving comfort of any sort, didn't really know what to say, but said what he knew. "not like it was your choice, right?... I mean... what really matters is that you're here now, isn't it...?"

Then he simpered. "Of course it's not like I was actually _that_ _worried_ about you or anything, but I was kind of beginning to worry that you'd forgotten what you said about _observing_ you. That was a fairly interesting offer, if I do say so myself. So I thank you~"

His smile was only slightly boastful, but he confidently tried to show that he hadn't been care, but was actually secretly appreciative of Shinra's apology, and was also trying to give him a reason to not be so upset.

Despite his thoughts the week before, he didn't know if he had actually been worried about or missed Shinra or something similar or not, but he didn't want to think too deeply into it, and wasn't even certain about much of anything within himself regarding his classmate, minus what he'd said, himself, about being interested in his offer to observe him.

But regardless, there was one thing he didn't even think to disown; the sense of comfort, ease and excitement that had formed in his heart now that Shinra was finally there.

"You're welcome." The bespectacled boy carefreely gestured, not failing to take him by surprise at all.

 _"You're not suppose to say 'you're welcome' to somebody who wants to use you..."_ Izaya and him talked a few minutes more, even though it was more just one sided from Shinra's part, until the teacher had finally reprimanded him and asked him to go and sit at his desk several times before Izaya _really_ began to notice the stares building up and tried to tell him just what the teacher had, but in his own words.

"...Oi, why don't you tell me all about your boring visit to the hospital later? I'll be able to listen to it later, so please go sit down, Shinra..." He didn't mind getting so much attention from his humans like this, but he didn't particularly like it either, so it would probably be rather troublesome if he got in trouble on his second week of middle school. In reality, though, he truthfully only said it to see if this boy actually took his advice and would listen to him when he hadn't listened to the teacher. Apparently, he had.

"Fine, if you say so... Sorry, Hiroto-sensei." Shinra muttered slightly reluctantly, grinning a bit, as he turned back to Izaya, then the bell rang.

"...I guess it can't be helped, so I guess I'll tell you about it later?"

"If that's what you want, you had better try not to fall again, ne Shinra?" Izaya teased.

"Don't worry, I won't." Shinra replied, before finally making his way to his desk. Izaya stood up and bowed with the rest of the class as per every other morning.

Izaya still had a few pieces of Ootoro left, but he decided he'd just eat it later, and recovered it.

Even after everybody had sat back down, though, Shinra kept glancing back at Izaya and grinning. After some time passed and he still hadn't stopped glancing back, students around them were beginning to notice and were already whispering some stuff amongst themselves and rumors were already forming. Nothing that was said made it past Izaya's ears, because lest be said, Orihara Izaya was very good at hearing and picking on certain conversations when he wanted to.

"Dude, is something wrong with that boy...?"

"I don't know. He keeps glancing at Orihara like he's trying to get his attention..."

"I personally bet Kishitani just wants to disect him."

"...Hahahah."

" _What_...?"

"...'wasn't joking. Haven't you heard anything about his father-"

"Excuse me, you kids, is there a problem over there? If so, feel free to let me know and step outside. I'll be glad to call a staff member to sort it out." The instructor had looked up to the kids, who shook their heads, as several others stifled a laugh.

"Naw, we're fine."

"Yeah, it all suddenly sorted itself out, so there's no need to worry now, _Hiro-jii-chan_..." another boy, who hadn't really said much the whole time suddenly spoke up.

"I see. I'm glad to hear that, _Jinchin_."

There was some snickering after that, following with some grumbling from the same boy Izaya also recoginized as the one who had spoke to him the week before when asking about Shinra.

His birth name was Jintarou, but some of the other students, mostly girls, would refer to him as "Jin-kun." He was what one would call a semi-typical hotshot and class clown. His hair was dyed pitch black, minus a few large blonde highlighted sections and had two small black lines underneath the corners of his eyes coated by eyeliner. His hair was also noticably shorter and choppier on the left side of his head whereas the right side was not that extremely long, but fairly longer than most male's hair was. He wore a tyedyed hoodie with violet-blue, hot-pink, and turquoise colors, while the hoodie it's self was a sort of a cerulean. It may have looked odd, but didn't seem to mind it at all.

Coincidently, that said class-clown was also the teacher's - Hiroto's, grandson. Izaya and several others had gathered this fact right from the first day of school just by hearing their family name, Akkoyamazaki and knew he also had other older relaitives who had taken up similar, but still different, careers.

Hiroto had began teaching again, and everybody was finally quiet now.

When Shinra glanced back Izaya's way once again after several minutes, the raven haired human lover thought to himself.

 _"...Why did I say such strange things like that so outright...? Honestly, it's as if I'm actually being sociable or something..."_ The raven and everybody else was finally silent now, as Izaya was thinking back over last week and the events of today. He would probably never get Shinra and why he was influencing him like that.

 _"Still..."_

A whole other week of observations to go, and many more left.

At that thought, he finally gave a content grin in return to Shinra's.

 _"...I guess this year might just be extra interesting, after all, huh~?"_

 _~ End of Chapter_

...

 _ **A/N: Again, I found this very hard to write but I did try my best considering! I swear it! XD**_

 _ **One other thing! I still need opinions on the supernatural thing! I think it could be interesting to write if done right, but at least let me know if you're in favor of it? And anybody who's willing to give me some ideas(heck I might could even expand from other folklore or mythical creatures, but you still have to help me), please do! You may think they're crappy, but I'm sure I can do something with them. I'm just not good about thinking up some things on my own. XD**_

 _ **And one other question.. About the after school clubs in the story(*cough* remember the**_ **Biology** _ **Club? *cough*)Got any good ideas for one that Izaya and Shinra might could form? Or join, I guess?**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Story: Masks of Deception, Chapter 3**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara!**_

 _ **Note: A quote from Durarara! Volume 11 that Izaya as the narrator said was very interesting.**_

 _ **"I understand that if I take action when my mood is high, it won't turn out well for me in the end.**_ **Although there are many times I can't control myself and lead myself into terrible situations.** _ **"**_

 _ **Just thought I'd leave that there. :P**_

 _ **In the end, I decided to go with the biology club. However, even the novels were sort of vague about this point in time so I'm trying to work with it, but I had a hard time writing this.**_ _ **I still really hope it wasn't too rushed. I swear I'm trying to keep this interesting. I'm gonna list random things about Shinra and Izaya.**_

 _ **The people that hurt Shinra were Nakura, Adabashi, Jinnai Yodogiri, and Kujiragi Kasane.**_

 _ **Izaya basically vowed to make Nakura's entire life hell.**_

 _ **Izaya locked Adabashi in his apartment for three days until he managed to escape with a broken leg of his own sheer will.**_

 _ **Izaya got rid of basically the whole Jinnai Yodogiri(in volume 11, he pretty much confirmed he had nothing against being stabbed) corporation.**_

 _ **Izaya had plans to get rid of Kasane Kujiragi as well, and that when Shizuo showed up, appearing to have befriended her. And also when he coincidentally really began to want to kill him, right before he threw down the crane tower.**_

 _ **And in the Epitome of Eighteen Histories, Izaya's part, he goes on to tell Shinra's sister the dangers of Shinra being involved with Shizuo because of the possibility of him getting hurt. Though it's possible that he was just trying to get her turned against Shizuo, he also was obviously jealous of Shinra and said to Kazane something to the degree of refusing to share Shinra with Shizuo(and also said to Shinra "I'd rather you cut your ties off him as soon as possible." Pffft He totally wanted Shinra to himself.**_

 _ **Also his conversation with Celty in Volume 9 before he punched the telephone pole kind of reminded me of Haruna's first conversation with Anri. "I could never hate Takashi for falling in love with somebody else, but the one he falls in love with; I won't forgive them." Or something like that.**_

 _ **I also believe that Shinra is Izaya's "god"((aka his past)).**_

 _ **((The thing about Haruna, I feel really bad for Celty and Anri, but I also feel bad for her, because Takashi used her and her family to get money! She said herself in spite of everything he did to her, she still loved him even when he basically threw her away when he "got bored of" her. He's a piece of scum that deserves to rot, and both Izaya(said for a teacher he was pretty stupid, and I agree. I'm glad they showed his evil past in the light novel) and Shizuo for once felt the same. Thank Narita that Shizuo got to beat him up in the Volume 2 epilogue. X3))**_

 _ **Plus, when he realized he might be betraying Shinra and that he would probably be mad at him, he laughed before punching a telephone pole.**_

 _ **Furthermore, he actually told Mikage that the "guy I thought was my best friend" just hung up on him in the hospital.**_

 _ **Also, before Shinra and Izaya talked on the phone in the hospital, Izaya had plans to leave because he knew they probably saw his pocket knife, therefore he seemed suspicious to them.**_

 _ **But suddenly after Shinra tells him "go die chest-first into an iceshaver", Izaya suddenly decides to stay at the hospital thinking, "might as well go out with a bang".**_

 _ **Kadota(despite all of his advice to stay away from Izaya) also said "If you want his love, you have to be his friend first. Start with your own to love him on the line, go to him as a friend on the line, and you will that he was unexpectedly the type of guy who has the strong bond of friendship."**_

 _ **Plus, confirmed by Durarara! Light novel Volume 2 epilogue, according to Izaya, Shinra, Simon, Yumasaki, Karisawa, Kadota and Togusa are not his pawns.**_

...

"...A mile run on the second week of school? What even, man?"

A mile run around the field of Raijin Chugaku - that's what the physical eductation teacher was asking the students to do and what quite a few of them were complaining about. However, Orihara Izaya, unlike most of the rest of them was actually excited by the event, because for one, it was actually rather amusing for him to watch the other kids in such distress and others trying to pick themselves - and each other - back up, even in such a situation as this, and, secondly, he was also rather agile and slim compared to the rest, so exorcise came easy for him, but that wasn't why was enjoyed observing them.

It was because he knew how some would act and how some wouldn't, and it was all interesting to and guess and watch how they would handle themselves and even how they handled those around them. He liked putting the endless pieces of the puzzle together as they went along with their life. Also, it was most amusing because they were completely unaware that he was watching them.

Even though these situations were starting to get old to him by now because he'd seen the same thing and same actions, so many times before. Even these people, he recognized some of them and so there was becoming less to see for him who loved humans.

He wouldn't call himself something like a stalker, because there was not one sole person he was interested in as an independant being. He said he loved humans, and was unbiased, but that didn't mean he actually accepted people unconditionally as a part of his life.

In a way, if somebody else with an open mind like Izaya knew how he really was or heard his full thoughts from him, himself, they might assume he just loved _everything_ so he didn't have to love _anything_ , truly face anything or, more importantly, so he didn't have to face _himself_. Then they might also feel compelled to inquire if Izaya even saw all this in himself or if it was more on a subconscious level. They might question "if he 'loves' observing humans, then does he 'love' himself at all or does he just subconsciously distract himself from facing such questons, and avoid facing his real heart by telling himself or believing that he doesn't even have one. But the only who might or might not know that would be Orihara Izaya himself. Either way, one thing he obviously did tell himself was that he "would always love humans", without even caring to assume, or ask himself if, he was actually just playing around with the meaning of his spoken words.

But that was who he was. That was all he was - a human loving anti-hero if he were in some anime or manga. Or at least this was what he told himself, anyway.

Not one person he 'loved' loved him back, but that was "alright" and that as well was just what he told himself. Somehow, he just wasn't phased by it perhaps because they didn't know the real him, so he had nothing to be afraid of, or maybe he just accepted everything as it came while always still searching for more.

The saying to rather be hated for what you are than be loved for what you're not did not apply to Izaya, and was quite the other way around. If one hated him for something the surface of him said, he wouldn't be bothered, but if somebody saw through him and hated him for just being him and went out of their way to simply make his life hell for no reason, he would not know how to deal with it.

Even giving people a reason to hate him would likely be better for Izaya. Fortunately, he hadn't had the bad luck of being faced with such an event of meeting such a person, yet.

Nobody seriously loved him, but nobody seriously hated him, therefore he could always continue "loving" them for who and what they all were, people in the good and bad masses alike. Love and hate are two strong emotions; this he knew. Both required constant devotion, in different ways. And so he did just that, and never focused on himself, just watched others.

And in this case, it was no different to him.

"I feel sick. I'm going to the infirmiry."

He loved the girl that had tried to dart out of this situation by giving a reason or two like sickness, regardless of whether he or she really was sick or not.

"It'll go by quicker if you don't complain."

He loved the one person that would always try to 'half-ass' encourage everybody else, while in reality actually mocking said encouragement.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, unless I die first. I never do exorcise."

He loved to observe while one would throw in their own exaggerated 'doubts', obviously just not wanting to participate.

"Me either. Hey, guys, if I happen to trip, and end up doing a full split, you might as well call the ambulance, 'cuz I'll be out'a here, y'all!"

He loved the bespectled long brown haired class clown in this class named Takumi Aizo who would likely often make jokes of sorts throughout the classes, as well as the short fine brown haired American transfer student that giggled at his antics, Erin Dason, and he loved the others that might or might not have rolled their eyes at that guy's joke.

"What's even the point of doing this, anyway? Why outside? We have to go _all the way out here just to_ _do some stupid laps_ , and then _to just head all the way head back up to the front_? We could have just saved this time by doing a normal _"mile run"_ in the gymnasium. If they really wanted us to do it, they could have just measured it out or something." He also loved the one girl, Yuri Kurosawa, who was probably having a bad day, and grumbling to herself while hoping somebody else heard her irritation.

"I'm hungry, sensei. Maybe you ought to order some pizza. Maybe the class would feel more motivated, then. Who agrees?" He also love for the odd blue eyed boy, Sato Hideki, who smirked to rub off on the teacher as somebody he'd be able to get along with, in which the teacher smirked back.

"Are you ready to work extra hard and make the rest of the class do so as well? I might at the end of the year if everybody participates well." He also loved the vasly different teachers out there who lived their occupations for different purposes, some being money, and some being the students themselves in a sense but not for each indenpent student, and even those you came across as hitting on students. In reality, that wasn't quite love; he knew that. But whether it was something terrible or something really good, his preference was always in the middle. He loved when it was stirred up equally, so it would be fair to both sides.

"I should have recorded that one. You'd have to do it, then." Hideki sighed.

"But I'm serious, though. How about this? If everybody in the class makes A-plusses, then I might actually consider it. You never know." The gym teacher, Itou Kazuma, told him.

"Wait, really?" The student questioned excitedly at hearing the teachers offer.

"I suddenly like this teacher, guys. You heard what he said, everybody? You better listen to him! Cause I want some ham and pineapple pizza at the end of this year, or pepporoni is fine. And I'm pretty smart and flexible, so if anybody needs any help with somethin', I'm your man, ladies and gentleman!" The boy proclaimed his excitement to the class, making his joke known, but also showing that he wasn't that hostile of a figure, and would probably be fairly easy to get along with throughout the year.

"...Sorry, I don't care about pizza or any of that nasty grease. I'm a vegetarian, bud." One girl spat.

"That's fine, my sister is too; I understand, so how I buy you a dinner you want, instead, then?" Hideki whispered, smiling, unphased by her cold attitude. It appeared to surprise the other for a moment before she sighed, looking away.

It was actually contradictory, considering the boy wouldn't be getting anything for free if he went and bought a dinner for somebody.

"Whatever, do it if you want, but I don't want or need your help on anything." The girl muttered, most likely awkward.

Some had remained silent throughout every thing so far.

And some didn't appear to really care that much way because they didn't want to ruin their image and were trying to just deal with it for they knew that complaining wouldn't fix anything, so they began to converse with those around them.

Most just went along with it to simply "to get it over with" and because they knew there was no way around it.

And lastly, but not leastly, there also appeared to be some that had completely and excitedly embraced the assignment, and already were making their way out to field, because down deep either they probably knew they needed it and that it would help them, or maybe they actually enjoyed running, so they were obviously grateful for it, and might even decide they'd go a little above and beyond. Also, it appeared that they obviously couldn't care less what other people said. They were just facing their problems head-on.

For Orihara Izaya it was interesting to observe all of the above and he loved all of those people, but the last type was the one he could actually say interested him the most. How much would it take to deter their excitement? He couldn't help but wonder, for he wasn't somebody who ever stepped in and said anything because of how he withdrew himself.

"Or, class, I _could_ assign you a five page essay on why running is good for you? Anybody want to do that? No talking, and no moving around for the rest of the class. Doesn't that sound fun?" The teacher 'offered'. His tactic was naturally to give a less entertaining alternative option, and while a couple suddenly seemed like they would have possibly prefered that option maybe because they like writing more, but because they were out numbered, most everybody grew silent except for one who grumbled, "it's not like I would write anything anyway" and another one that muttered, "I couldn't write five pages on why running is good for you, but I sure as hell could write a 100 page essay on why running is bad for me."

Somehow, the teacher had managed to hear the last one, to which he simply replied with "That'd be a good assignment. Want me to assign you that, then? I'm not sure that the head office would listen to your complaints, though."

Growing stiff, and slightly blushing, the student had not expected anybody to hear them, and then grumbled a simple and angry 'no', looking away.

"Hey, Izaya, I was wondering... do you want to co-found a club with me?" But _then,_ though he'd tried to forget, there was also one lone male student who would utterly thrown him off by completely showing his utter indifference to any of the matters at hand like he had caught everything but actually hadn't caught anything; who acted as if his attention was focused on something else completely, therefore ignoring the situation and assignment completely while still somehow participating almost like he was doing the tasks subconsciously while his mind was somewhere else. He looked, once again, just as carefree as he ever did.

There were definitely already people sort of like that, but there was just something completely about that person that just wasn't right. He wanted to see some kind negative reaction from Shinra, but so far he had only seen glimpses of things. He wanted to understand Shinra and know who he really was, but Izaya wasn't the type of person who typically asked much to find out everything he could about somebody, and instead learned by his observations.

To his annoyance, the said student was the bespectacled boy named Kishitani Shinra.

"Huh? You mean an after school club?..." Izaya found himself asking for confirmation.

"Yeah," Shinra nodded, with a smile. "I was thinking we could go with biology or something since you like observing humans."

"Why would I want to join one, much less form one? And what does observing humans have to do with biology." He honestly didn't even want to argue against Shinra's astounding 'logic', but was still curious how he had even made such a connection. His observation was more about the occupations of humans and not the way they're built.

"Because biology is about living things and humans are living beings just like plants and stuff; that's why. Besides, it's not like I'm looking for you to found something with me that you would participate too hard in."

"Then what's the point of forming one if you don't care to participate in one and you don't want me to care to participate in it that much, either?" Izaya raised an eye brow, slightly irritated and letting out a sigh.

"Well,... I guess I really just want an excuse to spend time away from home, and do something with a friend, is all. So what do you say?" Shinra asked him, carefreely as ever.

 _-"That's not something you should smile about saying,..."_

Those were Izaya's thoughts, but he couldn't say them out loud. In fact, he didn't even know what quite what to say with Shinra saying such a thing. He felt a sudden and strange urge to take up Shinra's offer, but he felt like it would be too much of an inference to his original way of life to _"never get too close or too far"_. If he allowed himself to get too much closer to Shinra, it could cause problems, right? Shinra just seemed too innocent for him not to be hiding anything. And he still wanted to ask what Shinra's "real intentions" were in becoming his friend. There had to be some ulterior motive, right? Somebody doesn't just randomly walk up to you one day and say, _"hey, let's be friends"_ , or ask classmates about you without even knowing you, but Shinra had.

 _"Ah, why am I thinking into this so much? Shinra's just odd; that has to be all there is to it."_

At that moment, he realized he hadn't answered Shinra's offer, but surprisingly the other hadn't pressed further until minutes later, as they were running on the field.

"I know you probably... don't know what to say...or think about my request," he said to the raven, "but I promise... it'll be fun and even if you don't want to do biology, you can choose... whatever theme you want for it or whatever because again,... I just want to spend... as much time with you as I can, anyway." He panted as he picked up his speed to keep up with Izaya.

And yet again, Shinra was doing and saying things not exactly within the ravens comfort level almost as if he was ignoring it, and _yet again_ , he really _didn't_ know what to think of what the eccentric boy was saying or asking, or more importantly _why_ he was asking what he was of somebody odd like himself; he couldn't read him. There was something about him that was just different than all the rest. Why him? Why himself?

Not that he wanted to dwell too much on the matter.

Even though he had his own questions, he'd stopped himself from doing so because he felt like it would be too odd to pursue Shinra on too many matter even if Shinra had just so happened to sort of step over those same boundaries with him.

Was he actually afraid that he might even "weird out" his first (best)friend ever? As apposed to how he had tried to distance himself before, he somehow found himself actually clinging to this relationship he'd been given a chance at.

On the other hand, there was still an annoying subconscious thought that almost always drifted back to into his head when he was around this human named Shinra, precisely why he didn't want to risk too much.

-What if he decidedly got too tired of him like with everybody else and just abandoned him?

Humans are like that, he knew, but Shinra was supposed to be different since he said he wasn't in him when he was not interested in the others or that's what it seemed like he kept trying to tell himself, yet he still felt a strong sense of doubt well up within him, and suddenly found it hard to swallow and involuntarily laughed sadly every time he unintentionally pictured Shinra leaving him behind like that.

Did it actually scare him? Was he "hurt" by that thought alone?

He wasn't sure either way, but there was no denying that he was always somehow relieved to see him again. Even now, he wanted to be around him, but yet at the same time he wanted to be far away to keep from relying too much on Shinra being there, but he was sure that he never would never pull away from him when he probably should. In a way, he guessed Shinra was the most intriguing person he had ever possibly met. In a way, since day one, it could even be said that Shinra was an addictive human being to somebody like himself. His persistence was one thing, and then there was his smile, he could never tell if it was genuine or fake, and more importantly, he never acted how he would expect one to.

Or perhaps, he only ever did and said what he actually wanted him to down deep; to see through him and accept him for who he was, unlike most people.

Furthermore, he, who was not used to feeling so many emotions, didn't understand why Shinra was causing this change in him, nor what that feeling would be called.

And it had only been what? A few weeks since school started? Not even a month? But, in measly said few weeks, he had began experiencing a sense of bliss and excitement he'd never experienced before and it almost felt to him like he might could actually be himself with somebody for a change, and when he was with him he hadn't had a care in the world about things around him at points, and slowly found his attention being taken away from the other humans, but that was also what scared him just as much and made him anxious when they were away from each other. He still held back, but found himself beginning to feel the urge to open himself up to the odd boy; wanting Shinra to know the real him, and more importantly wanted to know the real Shinra more. But if Shinra did get to know him and he was turned off by something in him, he couldn't bare the thought of the possibly expressions on Shinra's face.

Maybe it was the fact that Shinra usually always smiled, so he couldn't help but wonder what he really thought of him.

He was aware that he wasn't the best of people, but that didn't stop Shinra from approaching him even if he'd seen through him to the point that he did.

Maybe, in actuality, he was afraid _because_ of his eccentric behavior and how he never seemed turned off by anything. So if even Shinra couldn't "accept" him, surely nobody could.

Maybe that was true, but there was still something about him that bothered him, again, and made him want to know more about him.

Above all else, a possible contradiction to everything he'd considered about him before, in truth, he was actually more grateful to Shinra than he could ever express. Acting cold and teasing, though; that's just part of who he was, he told himself, and he was glad that Shinra didn't appear to be taking it personal or anything.

"...I'll think about it, okay?" He finally told him, akwardly, not wanting to see the expecting gaze in Shinra's eyes anymore. He doubted he'd follow through with it, but Orihara Izaya needed at least some time to himself before even considering doing such a thing and taking on such a task.

"Awesome! That's fine by me!" Shinra smiled. "Let me know if you decide to, okay?"

"Yeah."

...

At Raijin, later that day, Izaya was eating his lunch on a bench along with Shinra, as he was rambling on about the something incomprehensible to himself about his dad and once again back to his hospital visit, when he happened to mention his elementary school friend named Shizuo again.

If there was one thing he had gathered about him, it was that his name alone was pretty damn contradictory to his actions.

"...that was honestly one of the most terrible a boring visits to the hospital ever, but I guess it's not as bad as when Shizuo-kun beat me up. That was pretty bad. I was out of school for at least five weeks that time."

A girl in his homeroom had once mentioned that Shinra used to often follow "Shizu-chan" around back at his elementary school. And after piecing it together, and hearing other students also mention some boy named Shizuo as well.

According to the varying rumors, Shizuo was a pretty destructive kid to say the least. He had heard about him throwing a desk at a student that had thrown a compass at him.

And according to Shinra, Shizuo had also tried to pick up a refrigerator and hurl it at his brother once.

And as he heard more and more about this guy and Shinra's fascination with him, the more he was beginning to get irriated and his disdain only kept growing. Why, he didn't know, but something set off alarms in his head and there appeared to be more of an irrational anger in his whole being when he heard that Shinra had gotten hurt even once by Shizuo.

Why just Shinra, though?

"Why the hell would you have even stayed around a monster like that? He's liable to have killed you, whether by mistake or not. And even if it was an accident..., once you're dead you're dead." He said bluntly, almost snapping his words.

Shinra almost seemed taken aback for a moment, before giving a thoughtful look and then giving a warm and gentle smile. "...Izaya, you're really kind. It seems like you're getting very protective over me. You keep getting worried for me when you hear I was hurt. Even in the beginning, you asked if I was okay, even if you didn't want to worry. Thank you."

When he said that, Izaya immediately turned away a bit, a frusrated and slightly irritated look on his face, and felt his face slightly heat up akwardly when Shinra thanked him even though he had just called his friend a monster.

"No, I wasn't... I was just-"

"Trying to convince yourself that you weren't?"

"..." Izaya couldn't deny it. "...Say, Shinra, isn't a bit hot out here? I'm gonna-"

He had started to get up. He didn't like looking so vulnerable to Shinra, but Shinra reached out and pulled grabbed the back of his shirt to prevent him from walking off.

"Hey, you don't have to hide it, you know," Shinra laughed, trying to him back a bit, but while Izaya had stopped he didn't dare turn around. "because it's perfectly normal to care for a friend, and it actually it makes me quite happy that you do care so much for me. You really don't have to get so worked up about me being hurt back then, though. After all, I am here now, aren't I?"

"...yeah, I guess."

"Come on, then. Sit back down next to me. I'll feel lonely if you don't."

"...Now you're just saying things to test me now, aren't you?..." Izaya muttered with a laugh, but decidedly sat back next to him a little too close for his comfort level, courtesy of Shinra.

"Whatever you say." Shinra beamed, before speaking again.

"And anyway, about the thing with Shizuo-kun, I was kind of to blame for it for provoking him in a way. I was talking his ear off before that and made a teasing comment for him to apologize to the desk he threw into the wall when he happened to get into a fight between some kid who wrote something insulting on his desk and even evidently dared to say something to his little brother. He did feel really bad for hurting me afterwards, though, even if he typically only saw me as more of a nuisance and told me to leave him alone many times."

"...Still, putting yourself in such a situation, that's dangerous. And did he at least get suspended or something for that?" Izaya hated to admit it, but somehow, he felt a little bit of curiosity yet irritation toward the mysterious person, even though he knew he would still never be able to get along with somebody like Shizuo who had hurt one of _his_ humans. Wait, his? Why was he suddenly getting so defensive, anyway?

 _"And why does it seem like it's just over Shinra?"_

"Yeah, for about a month. That was back in our fifth year of elementary school. He started having those problems with controlling his thoughts and body back in the third grade or around that time, at least. As you may know, he tried to pick up a refrigerator to throw it at his brother that day. Not that he succeeded in actually picking it up, much less throwing it, but it sure caused him some neck damage to say the least. But it's always himself he hurts first, so I assume he stopped holding back since he feels he would only ever hurt and be hurt, anyway. Since he'll just break down in the end over and over again-Oh! Maybe you both are little bit alike, Izaya, with how both you and Shizuo-kun both have problems with connecting with people and are afraid of trying, because you don't understand yourself and you don't want to hurt somebody more than you would otherwise, and more importantly because you're afraid of being hurt by your own mistake of letting yourself get close to people, so you'd rather stay at a distance, but you don't want be completely alone either, do you?"

"..." Izaya was silent, thinking over what he said. "I guess we'll see about that if we meet one day, but I have my doubts."

He actually didn't believe it would be possible for him and this Shizuo person to ever get along if they ever happened to meet even if he was human, simply because he himself wasn't too fond of violent situations to begin with and more importantly because of how, once again, he'd _hurt_ _Shinra_ , and was liable to hurt _anybody_ if they crossed him wrong, and more importantly if he was as unreasonable as he sounded to be. And either way he looked at it, he didn't even want to think about him, because aside from all that, he honestly just wanted to make his time with Shinra as pleasant as it could possibly be at this point.

He could focus on the student named Shizuo some other time.

...

Four days later, during mathematics, he suddenly realized something. It wasn't something that he'd thought much about to be able to put the pieces together to come to the conclusion of, but more or less something that had dawned on him, and hit him out of no where.

Kishitani Shinra was practically the exact opposite of him. He didn't care about humans at all unlike he himself did. Shinra was very good at observing people and reading them(like a damned book) but he didn't even have to try and it was like he didn't even care that he could; Like he wasn't and couldn't be swayed by them at all, as if there was something else entirely that he was focused on and being influenced by, while nothing else mattered at all to him, but the question was: what was the Kishitani boy even focused on? Why had he wanted to become friends with a standoffish person like himself?

With those two lone questions in mind, he had finally decided to accept Shinra's plea to found the biology club with him, for the sole purpose of being able to keep a closer eye on the strange boy named Kishitani Shinra.

"So, about the biology club, I've decided to accept your offer to found it, but only under the condition I get to be the vice president of the club." Izaya told the bespectacled boy, as they were able to leave for the day.

Shinra's eyes immediately sparkled, as he jumped up from his desk with a huge smile.

"Deal! I couldn't possibly ask for anything more!" Shinra proclaimed excitedly, as he suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace.

Izaya's body froze momentarily at the physical contact this boy had given him once again, before smiling shakily, but forcibly it was proud still, but obviously looked too out of place. "Ah, it's really nothing."

 _-"Honestly, it really_ is _nothing_ that _spectacular,_ right _?"_

He felt that way, but, even if he wasn't that great at reading Shinra, he had sort of expected a similar reaction, minus being embraced. Yet, somehow, that didn't make it any less desirable to him. In fact, he'd even say that seeing Shinra so happy had somehow even made him far _more_ excited. However, the one thing he hadn't expected at all was the sudden butterflies-in-the-stomach-yet-blissful feeling he received when Shinra had wrapped his arms around him, and he would _almost_ say he felt disappointed when Shinra had let go.

 _"...What am I even thinking? I don't like him like that. He just happens to interest me; that's all. He's just unique and is just a new goal and happens to be a human I want to understand so much more. If I can understand somebody as odd as him, is it possible that maybe I could understand myself better as well?"_

Maybe he was just deluding himself, but he refused to think of Shinra as anything other than a supposed best friend, more importantly to feel any kind of craving for any kind of physical contact from somebody he'd only just met about three weeks prior. Not to mention that he didn't even know Shinra that well.

After all, his only goal and/or hobby was human observation and Shinra happened to be a human who just seemed different to him than any other.

Regardless of his feelings he decided it didn't matter, because with their decision in place, and after they got permission from staff, Raijin's biology club was officially created, with Izaya as its vice president and Shinra happily following behind.

 _~ End of Chapter_

 _ **...**_

 _ **A/N: What do you think? Let me know, please!**_

 _ **Replies to reviews:**_

 _ **To KSdees:**_

 _ **I know, and I think that Shinra often utterly ignores the atmosphere even if he reads it.**_

 _ **Well, at first, because of how Shizuo had kind of stopped holding back, he sort of saw things in black and white, didn't really go by moral until later after he learned that his power could be used to protect.**_

 _ **Volume 2 says,**_

 **|Shizuo's thought process was very simple, though it wasn't the result of some kind of strong belief or ideal. He put everything in the world into two categories.**

 **People who pissed him off and people who didn't piss him off. Those were the only two choices.|**

 **He's still one of my favorites, and I really like his development over the course of the second half of the anime(minus the final battle but that's from both ends and even Volume 13 showed just how messed up and pointless that fight was.)**

 **I actually think that least selfish of all the characters would have to be Kadota.**

 **Erika even makes that point that "you couldn't even find somebody as good as him in a manga" and considering that both fiction and reality are just as important as the other to her, that's saying a lot. Kadota even reaches out a hand to any enemy at many points if they're hurt. I really enjoyed Kadota's part of the Epitome of Eighteen History's series which showed how he and Togusa met. That was awesome and made me love Togusa more.**

 **I just love how purposefully put himself into dangerous and troublesome situations even by himself, just to try to get the peace back to Ikebukuro.**

 **Anyway, the only supernatural thing I can of is Vampires(there are hints that Ruri and Kujiragi are actually half vampires), Werewolves, Succubuses, and ghosts. xD**

 **To unknown: Thank you! No problem! I hope that this one was still good.**

 **To Rren Cross: That is definitely something I've decided to keep. And you've given me so many ideas! Thank you!**


	4. Author's note

I apologize for the inconvenience(and possible change in plans, depending on what you choose). I'm considering making Shizelty(That way we can still have IzaShin, but this would be a bit easier to write. It'll still have the same base, but will naturally have some of its own originality to it! Please let me know what you guys think. I'm having a sort of time continuing because I'm not sure where to go with Shizuo. I really don't want him to be alone or anything.

So please give me your thoughts on it. I've been really busy, but I hope to get back with this story very soon.


	5. Chapter 4

_**Story: Masks of Deception, Chapter 4**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara!**_

 _ **Oh! So you know how Shinra referred to Celty as "more human than a lot of people" or something like that? Well...**_

 _ **He(who was confirmed by volume 13 as "the first person to see through Izaya to his true nature") also said that Izaya's true nature is-**_

 _"He_ _ **may**_ _seem cold-blooded, but he_ **is** _ **more human**_ _and his_ _heart_ _ **(is)**_ _more brittle t_ _han anybody else's, so much so that, if filled with human love_ _ **or**_ _betrayal, it_ _ **will**_ _break easily, which is why I_ _ **think**_ _he_ _chose_ _,_ _from the beginning_ _, to_ _ **avoid it all**_ _, to_ _ **love humanity**_ _, you understand?_ _ **Not**_ _to accept it,_ _ **not**_ _to face it,_ _ **to avoid it."**_

And please please please tell me what you think of Shinra's part in this. I had to have Izaya do something to spark Shinra's interest, so I hope that my idea was an okay one. **–w–;;**

* * *

— _ **-xox-—**_

Do you believe in love at first meeting?

Well, _I_ do, but I don't know if I'd call what I feel typical _"love"_ by a normal person's standards.

Maybe it's closer to a type of obsessive fascination, like some people get so addicted to anime or manga or animals or other things that they don't even know how or care to relate to people whom they have no interest in or share much of anything in common with? Don't get me wrong though! I personally just think that my 'love' is not what other people would label as typical romantic love.

There is romance involved, but... Ah! I'll try to explain it. How to put it...?

See, when I was very young, there was this mysterious boy that saved me from some adults which were harrasing me. That boy suddenly came out of nowhere when they had me cornered.

Dousing them all with several buckets of water, and spraying a couple of them with some kind of harsh chemical before he grabbed my hand and we ran off. He was all I could suddenly care to look at for that entire ten or so minutes as we were being chased by a few of them.

He easily outran them, smiling the entire time.

Even though I know he didn't do it out of a personal obligation of right or wrong, I still found myself enthralled by him.

He honestly told me that he simply did it do have some "fun"; To experiance something "new", because he was "bored".

And I could tell just by looking at his smile, and talking to him for a few minutes, that he was emotionally detached from this world. He wasn't even smiling at me as an individual. He was trying to live on his own plane, and subconsciously trying to observe or love all humans as one, akin to not loving anybody - probably even himself.

Yes, I did find his odd auburn eye color and his body in general to be very attractive and cute, but, again, it, with no doubt, it was the realization _about_ his detachment _alone_ that, in fact, made him so alluring to me.

For weeks after that, even though he himself may never even remember that incident, he was that all that was ever on my mind anymore.

It's only now that I realize for certain what I felt, and still feel, for him is love.

And now, I want to achieve the unachievable.

I want to bring out in him things that he doesn't let show or may not even know himself. I want to see in him the things that nobody else will ever see in him, to claim his true self for and by myself.

Also, I know it may sound kind of odd or maybe even impossible, but I want to get him to focus on me the same way I know he's prone to look at humanity, but I want to bring out the best and most charming side of him, and sides of him that I know he wants to reject.

Now that I think about it, maybe it's more of a desire to monopolize him, after all, since I do, by definition, want him for myself, and to satisfy my own loneliness and boredom in a way, but it's true that I really do love him and have an undeniable devotion to him.

Why did it turn out so obsessive?

Well, shortly before meeting him, my mother also left my father over some crazy arguements about antiques and that's when I really became truly lonely for the first time in my life. Perhaps it's that emptiness that had an drastic affect on me and made me reach out to something to cling onto?

Or maybe not?

Actually, I have reasons to both think so and think not so, and anyway, and I really don't care why.

Because now that I realize that I love him, and it's all I could ever care about now, more than anything else. I love him and I couldn't possibly want anything else. Unlike him, my heart is all that matters to me.

Oh, back when I first met him, I also managed to find out his name, which was very strange. You could even say it fit him quite well, too.

He may or may not know it, but I started following him around and asking people about him, and now I may even know more than he himself or his family knows about his own self background.

"Are you a stalker?", you might ask.

And, you know, I almost hate to say it, but you may not be too wrong to think that. In fact, I could even say that my feelings for him is the meaning of my entire life at this point. My love for Izaya is the very reason I truly want to continue living, and can't care about anything else. Just by finally talking to him again, and being put in the same middle school, after all of these years too, I'm more happy and excited than I could ever be otherwise.

Without him, I would surely feel dead inside. This love I have for him is the only cure to my loneliness.

They do say "love blinds one", after all, and I couldn't agree more.

 _ **—-xox-—**_

"Well, well, I'm expecting great things of you, Vice President!"

As Shinra patted him on the shoulder, Izaya found himself sitting in a chair and smirking back, almost amused at the enthusiasm of his 'friend'. He replied, "So basically, you're planning on doing nothing yourself, right...?"

"What? _No._ Of course I'm going to do something!" Shinra gasped as if he had been insulted. Whether he was being serious or not, Izaya could not tell.

"Oh?" he found himself raising an eyebrow, gesturing, in some sort of beguilement, for Shinra to kindly elaborate.

The bespectacled boy unanticipatedly stepped closer, from the other side of the desk he was sitting at, placing his palms flat on the desk. He leaned forward, a little too close for exact comfort where their noses were nearly touching. Izaya swallowed, when the brunette smiled all but brightly. His auburn eyes met dark gray ones.

"I told you before, didn't I? Oh well... I'll be a little more honest with you, Izaya. I'm completely using this club as an excuse to satisfy my loneliness by staying after school. See, there's somebody I love, so I really want to make an impression on them, but, for some reason, they seem to think I have no life," Shinra glanced away a bit, explaining his apparent situation. "so I want to prove them wrong and myself worthy to them in a certain way, but that aside. In return for you going along with this, _you_ get to observe _me_. Isn't that great?"

"Firstly, I can entirely understand why somebody would think that... And secondly, I like to observe all humans, so of course it'd be great..." Izaya found himself looking away, a slight bit flustered, as he immediately began wondering who the mystery person was that Shinra had mentioned. He felt his chest fluctuate.

So that was why? Of course it would be. It made sense, but yet -

He hadn't seen him around any specific girl that he knew of, and nor had his friend ever mentioned any other relevant person in his life aside from his father. Guys didn't really make much of a noticible effort to approach him either, except occationally. Sure, there were plenty of people that hung around him, but Shinra never seemed interested in them.

All Izaya knew was that Shinra had been asking around about him as well.

So was there another possible factor that he hadn't considered or payed enough attention to?

Why had Shinra wanted to become his friend first place? Was it also to 'impress' the mysterious person?

"Izaya?"

What was the person like, and how the hell were they able to phase him in such a way when he couldn't? Who or what the _hell_ was Shinra looking at?

In an instant, he realized he was, for some reason, jealous.

And he found himself so obsessed with figuring out _exactly who_ had gained Shinra's attention that he had forgot that Shinra was even there - until hands had grabbed the side of his face, tiltling his head upward where their eyes could meet.

"Hey, don't worry, Izaya. I'm also very much here to support you no matter what you do as well, okay?"

Izaya was certain his heart beat had only sped up because he was startled by the unexpected actions.

"Ah. Yeah..." Izaya forced himself to say, entranced by Shinra's eyes and unreadable expression behind his smile. His lips were...

"Good." Shinra then pulled away, now sitting down in the swivel chair in the Biology Room and started spinning around in it as if treating it like a toy.

They had ended up founding the Biology Club together and were now using this Biology Club for their club activities.

Shinra was the President and Izaya the Vice President. They had yet to actually recieve any other members, though, since it had just been formed the day before.

"Ah," Izaya finally smirked, regaining his composure. "you say 'no matter what', but don't you realize that you should back such words up? I mean... what would you do if I decided to go and do something terrible...?"

"Hm? I guess it'd depend. You have a scenario in mind?" Shinra inquired, as if he was seriously taking it into consideration.

And Izaya was ultimately taken aback to hear him ask such a thing, his mouth somewhat open, as if he wanted to debate against his logic. Was Shinra serious or was he playing along and making a joke? It had to be a joke.

"Okay, fine. In theory, let's say I wanted to kill somebody, then," Izaya slightly smirked, finally and freely deciding to quickly give him one of the worst case scenarios possible, catching Shinra's eyes, "and I asked you for guidance. What would you tell me? That I shouldn't do it? Or would you help me by finding a hitman to get up with?"

"Neither," Shinra smiled in return, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I'd simply kill them for you without a question or hesitation if I knew for certain that you really wanted them dead that bad. Ah, but I might not even do with you knowing. I'd also hide the body."

Izaya's heart stopped for a second, yet began to beat much faster in sudden unexplained diversion. Something wasn't right about Kishitani Shinra.

"...Do you mean that? I mean, you know I was just making a joke, right?..." he had to ask, compelled by the alluring - _and so damn interesting!_ \- vibes he was getting from Shinra.

"Yep, but I'm actually being as serious as possible, Izaya. Although, you wouldn't typically and seriously want somebody dead without a reason, would you?"

"...Would I literally wish for something as certain as death on a human? I don't think so. I'm not that heartless..." Izaya muttered, also considering it though. He himself was in fact terrified of the prospect of death, and would prefer to observe living people if he could help it..

If he did, there would have to be have to be a damned good reason, at least by his own standards.

If he could help it, he'd simply prefer not to get in trouble with the law anyway.

However, it was on that day, that he realized how dangerous Kishitani Shinra really was. He just felt it.

His interesting classmate was all but serious when he had said he would kill somebody for him.

But Orihara Izaya, being Orihara Izaya, didn't mind at all. In fact, it was right up his alley.

 _~ End of (Such a short)Chapter_

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey! I'm back again. Still keeping my ear open to hear opinions against the idea of ShizuoxCelty. And pleeease tell me what you thought of the Shinzaya in this chapter? Please, I'm not used to writing for this pairing. Sorry it's not much, but I hope it's at least somewhat satisfactory for the time being. ;-;**_

 **And Kamirouba, thank you so much for sharing your input and, by the way, Iike TomShizu too. Pfffft, I'll ship mostly anything. XD**


End file.
